When a ligament or tendon becomes detached from the bone, surgery is usually required to re-secure the ligament or tendon. Often, a substitute ligament or graft is attached to the bone to facilitate regrowth and permanent attachment. The reattachment procedure involves drilling of a graft tunnel between two bones (for example, femur and tibia) and then securing of the tissue (graft) within the tunnel.
Ordinarily, an incision is made to access the proper area for drilling a tunnel through the bone. A guide pin is placed through the incision and driven into the bone. A drill is then placed over and guided by the guide pin during the drilling of the graft tunnel through the bone.
Currently, certain drill pins, guide pins and/or beath pins are provided with small suture eyelets in the shaft for threading and passing sutures or flexible strands. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a known suture pin 10 provided with a 2.4 mm suture eyelet 11. However, it remains difficult to thread the sutures or strands with the attached graft through (particularly when multiple strands are employed). The procedure is also time consuming and difficult, as it requires loading of multiple suture strands through the small eyelets in the pins. In addition, manufacturing of drill pins, guide pins and/or beath pins with small suture eyelets in the shaft is costly.
Improved suture/pin constructs and methods of threading suture through tissue, or around tissue, with maximum suture fixation strength, as well as methods of securing tissue to tissue are needed.